Most Villafuertes suffer debacle in Camarines Sur

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Only one member of the fragmented but still influential Villafuerte clan of Camarines Sur made it in Monday’s elections, and the youngest at that, trouncing his own grandfather in the province’s gubernatorial race.

The rest of the Villafuerte clan were defeated by the widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and the re-electionist son of  former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Miguel “Migz” Villafuerte, 23, topped the race for governor with 170,841 votes, winning by a margin of almost 40,000 votes against his estranged grandfather, Representative Luis Villafuerte (Nationalist People’s Coalition), who got 131,627 votes, according to the tally of the Commission on Elections posted on its website.

The administration’s candidate, Joel Cadiz (Liberal Party) was trailing behind the two Villafuertes with 97,686 votes.

Luis Villafuerte’s wife, Nelly, was likewise trounced in a landslide victory by Leni Robredo (LP) for the third district congressional seat that the eldest Villafuerte will be vacating.

Leni Robredo, in an unprecedented major upset, garnered 107,496 votes, representing 76.93 percent of the votes cast in the district, against Nelly Villafuerte’s 29,813 votes.

Governor Raymund Luis “LRay” Villafuerte’s attempt to wrest the second district congressional seat from incumbent Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo (Lakas), son of former President and just reelected Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, failed when he got only 39,774 votes against to Arroyo’s 46,604 votes.

A scion of another influential Camarines Sur political clan, Wimpy Fuentebella (NPC), also fell on the wayside, losing to actor-turned-politician Aga Muhlach.

Muhlach (LP) garnered 45,131 votes against Fuentebella’s 41,059 votes.

In the first congressional district, reelectionist Rep. Rolando Andaya (Lakas) won by a wide margin (45,957 votes) against his opponent, Nestor De los Reyes (Nationalista Party), who got 4,578 votes.

In the fifth district, Representative Salvio Fortuno (LP) won his reelection bid with 60,352 votes against challenger Felix Alfelor (NPC), who got 33,196 votes.

The district’s third contender, character actor Rez Cortez (UNA), got 11,142 votes.